The chairman of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Prof Anil Sahasrabudhe addressed one of the largest gatherings of educationists at the online Faculty Development Programme (FDP) conducted by ASM Group and ASMA Institute of Management. The five-day programme, which concluded on May 21, was attended by around 7,500 participants from 1,500 cities in India. The aim of the programme was to equip teachers to help them adapt to online learning smoothly and help develop new skills to manage change in the education system post COVID-19 era. 

Prof. Sahasrabudhe was the guest of honour at the valedictory session. He emphasised on ‘work to learn and learn to work’ suggesting that learning should be multidisciplinary and help learners not just to get employed but also help them work in teams at work, enabling them to create solutions for different problems. He said education should help transform lives during the coronavirus pandemic. “Learners should understand the principle of education and apply their knowledge to practice. They should be able to attain as much knowledge as possible from the faculties,” he said adding that learning is a lifelong process. “The faculty should also be able adapt to lifelong learning. Only then, can they expect students to be lifelong learners,” he said. 

Lesli Loh, an international speaker and CEO, Lithan, Singapore spoke about Competency Learning as a Service (CLaaS) with personalised blended learning programme, competency-based curriculum and work integrated applied learning. 

The chief guest for the online event was Sanjay Dhotre, Union minister of state for human resource development, communications and electronics & information technology, Government of India. Unfortunately, he could not attend the programme but sent in his wishes to the organisers for conducting the FDP successfully. He issued a statement stating that though the coronavirus pandemic has posed several challenges, it has also provided several opportunities. “Online education is one of them and teachers are one of the most important stakeholders in this activity. I am sure that the teachers who participated in the programme must have benefitted in the field of online learning pedagogy and use it further in their day-to-day teaching,” it read. 

Also read: AICTE to conduct virtual inspections for approval of new colleges & varsities